Igniter for internal-combustion engines.



H. RBIGHE. Y IGNITER FOR INTERNAL GOMBUSTlON ENGINES.

AP'PLIUATION FILED umzs, 1908.

Patented July 29,1913.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.`

I INVENTO/ H. REIGHE. Y IGNITER POR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION' FILED `PAN. 23, 190B,

Patented July 29, 1913.

4 SEHEN-SHEET 2,

H; RBICHE. i

IGNITEB. FOR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

-APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1903. l

1,068,930. Pantnted'.Iu1y29,1913.v

H. RBIGHB. IGNITER PoR INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23. 1908.`

1,068,930. Patented July 29, 1913.

1 EFE-15 A TTOHIVEMSl ,To all 'whom t may concern.' i

HERMANN REICHE, or' MILLsToNE', NEW JERSEY.

IGNITER FOR INTER-NAL-COMBUSTION EGINES.

1 ,cesareo Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1913.

Application filed January 23, 1908. Serial N o. 412,320.

Be itlrnoivn that I, ERMANN REICHE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident Aof'Millstone, in the Acounty of Somerset and State of NewJersey, have invented a new and Improved* Igniterfor'Internal-Combustion Engines,.of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

, Thisinvention relat'es to certain improve-- ments in that type ofigniter for internal combustion engines in which a small quan-y tity ofthe explosive mixture iscompressed in an. auxiliary cylinder to such apressure that it autmatically'ignites and serves for the ignition of themain charge in the Working' cylinder. i One object of the invention isto so construct the mechanism for compressingl the igniting portion ofthev gas that this mecha nismmay be readily applied to any common formof. internal combustion engine alieady manufactured and used, in placeof the usual spark plug. The igniting mechanism may be manufactured andsold independently of the engine the same as "ordinary spark plugsapplied to the engine by the purchaser.

` A further object of in invention isto pi'ovidefmeans foi1 `contro lingthe pressure in the i'gniter2 so as to control the time at whichtheignition will take place, vand thus control the speed of the engine.The controllin mechanism involves means for auto-4 matica lycontrollingthe timer, so as toai'lto-l matically governI the engine,`and -in additio-n .to this, means for manually controlling the same. y

Various means may be provided oper-I ating the piston to produce thedesired compression of the ignition charge, said means being tpositivelyoperated from amoving part o the engine, or operated by a spring. Incase a spring is used, it may be compressed either by the action of. amoving part of the engine, or by the pressure existing Within thevcylinder immediately after the explosion, or'at the end of thecompression l' stroke. In case the spring is used, as above indicated;the spring may. be released and the timing of the explosion controlledby rthe removal ofa stop or catch, the movement vof which' is dependentupon the pi essure 'in the;

engine cylinder or upon the action of a movthe igiiite'r; p

Reference is to be had to the aciminpany ing part, or upon iluidpressure in a part of pression is brought about by a spring re-` leasedby the action of a movin part of the Y' ing drawings, forming a part ofthis specifiengine; Fig.; 2 is a longitu .inal section` throu h -theigniter proper, said section be ing 'ta en on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is "a longitudinal section through another *form of my ignitiondevice, in .which compression is brought about by the action of. amoving part of the engine, and illustrating a second form -of governor;Fig. 4 is a longi tudinal section 'through a third form 4of my improvedignition device; Fig? 5 is an end view thereof; Fig. 6 is a transversesection on the'line 6 6 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 isa transverse sect-ion on theline 7-7 of Fig. 4v; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion'of thetripping or'piston-releasing device; Fig. 9 is a transverse section onthe line -9-9 of Fig. 4; Fig. 1'0 is a side elevation of the portion ofthe operating rod for said releasing device;

Fig. l1 is a longitudinal section through a- 'a transverse section onthe line 1313 of4 11'. I In all of the forms of my improved ignitiondevice, therigniter proper is preferably so constructed that it may bethreaded into the opening in the cylinder Wall or cylinder .head, intowhich the ordinary spa-rk plug is normally inserted, andthe attachmentsfor operating the igiiiter proper are such.v that they may be readilyapplied to an engine Without necessitating the special' designing of theengine to adapt it for the i-gnitei'.

In the speciic form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the igiiiter properincludes a bod 10, having a threaded portion 10a adapted for insertioninto the threaded opening in the engine A. The inner -end of the body isconstructed to form an auxiliary or ignition cylinder 11., having apiston 12 operating therein and having a very small discharge opening 13at the inner e1id, through which the gases may escape into the enginecylinf der, particularly at the instant of explosion.

At the outer end of the body 10, there is proist lof

' charge in the. working cylinder.

threaded into the outer end-of the section 14, and at its outer endcarries a threaded cap 17. The plunger or piston12 extends through thecasing and through -the cap 17, the latter serving as a guide or lateralsup` port for the piston. Within the casing section 15, there isprovided a heavy coil spring 18, one-end of which engages with the ca17, and the other end ofwhich engages with a circumferential flange 19on .the hollow 'piston 12. The strength of this spring is such that whenthe plunger or hollow piston is released, it.will compress the gas inthe cylinder 11 to -such a pressure that it lwill .instantly ignite andthe iiame will issue through the orifice 13 to ignite the main Foradmitting the explosive mixture tothe cylin der 11, the nipple 16 iscpnnected to the carbureter or to the explosive mixture supply conduit,and the portion of the hollow piston 12which is within the casingsection 141 is provided with one or more inlet ports 20.

y The piston is formed vof a tube of the desired diameter and having itslower end closed by a valve 21, the valve stem of which extends toadjacent the upper end of the piston. This terminal valveis normallyheld closed by a lightspring 22', engaging with suitable stops carriedby the valve rod and piston, butat the time of the suction stroke of thepistn, the partial vacuum created will open the valve 21 and theexplosive` mixturewill flow through the nipple 16, the casing section141., fand the ports 20, to the interior of the piston, and thence pastthe` valve-L21 to the cylinder 11. For preventing the escape of thecharge past the piston, a suitable packing 23 is provided within thebody and surrounding the piston'and held in place by a: spring 24, thetension .of which is controlled by a nut or gland 25 Athreaded into theouter end of the body and within the casingl section 14. Operativelyconnected to the Aiston at its outer end is means for normaily oldingthe piston in its outeri most position with/the spring compressed, andso constructed as torelease the piston at the desired time to cause acompression of the ignition charge. Pijeferably,the piston carries .alaterally-extending .arm 26, held.

' `between collars on the piston and having its outer end in engagementwith a cam 27. The cam is pf such shape thaty once during eachrevolution, the arm is released and the piston permittejgtlto, descendinto' the cylin- .dernunder the miiu'ence ofnthe spring 18.' i y 65 Thecompression 'f the' oharge. ignites the l having one end thereof pivotedto the eylin-'- l saine, and the pressure in both the main -cylinder andthe auxiliary cylinder immediately rises to the maximum. V This normallytends tolforce `the piston-12 back ing the piston 12 against theactionof the spring is done by the pressure of the gas in the cylinder 'ratherthan by thecam, the latter serving merely to hold the spring conopresseduntil theproper time arrives for igniting the-next charge. Forcontrolling the tension of the spring, the movement of the piston andthe pressure to which the -initial chargeis compressed, the casingsection- 15 is threaded t-o the casing section 14 and the piston is'soconnected tothe casing section 15, that the relationship o f the twosections may be adjusted, without aecting the adjust-ment of the section15 and the piston. The interior of the section 15 is preferably providedwith longitudinal grooves 15X, which engage with the periphery of theflange 19, so that a rotation of the casing section vcauses asimultaneous rotation of4 the piston, and the cap 17 is threaded to thesection 15, so that the tension of the spring.

-may be varied without rotating either .the-h casing section or thepiston'. The outer end' of the piston ,is rotatably mounted ',riiithe.,l

end of the arm 26, so as to permit-ofthe necessary rotation of the'piston inadjustiugl.,

the device. Foi-rotating the cani' andfor controlling the same'so asltovary the time thereof but cannot rotate in respect thereto,

preventrotati'on of the cam in 'respect to shaft, so that it may movelongitudinally and the cam is keyed tothe sleeve so' as to.

iio

the sleeve, save when the sleeve is moved longitudinally. The keyway inthe outer,

`.surfacel of` the sleeve is in the form of a @,helixfand the cam isheld from longitudinal movement by suitable bearings-upon opposite sidesthereof. When the sleeve' is moved longitudinally in respect to theshaft, the cam is caused to slightly vary its angular adjustment inrespect to the shaft, due to the helical formationof the keyway in thesleeve.

Any suitable means'ma-y be provided 'for moving the sleevellongitudinally to c ontrol the position lof the cam, and thus the timeof ignition. Asshown, I employ a lever 31,

A der head of the engine and having engagement with a collar 32,rotatably mounted on the sleeve but held from longitudinal movement inrespect thereto. For rotating the shaft and the cam, I provide a Wheel33 rotated from a moving part ofthe engine and so connected that itsrelationship thereto remains constant. For a two-cycle en# gine, thewheel 33 is so connected that it rotates at the same time as the shaftcrank, while for a four-cycle engine, it is so con-- nected as to rotateat one-half the speed of the crank shaft. The wheel may be operated by aseries of gears, by a chain or by other suitable connecting means. Thewheel is mounted on a sleeve 34, somewhat siini-lar to the sleeve 30,and this sleeve 34 is also mounted on the shaft. The sleeve is keyed tothe shaft, so as to permit of a longitudinal movement but to prevent la'rotation in respect to the shaft. The wheel is keyed to the sleeve, butthe keyway in the -sleeve `is of'v helical form so that a longitudinalmovement of the l sleeve rotates the shaft to a slight extent and variesthe angular adjustment of lthe wheel in respect to the shaft. Suitablemeans are provided for moving the shaft longitudinally in accordancewith the speed of the engine, so as to automatically govern the engine.This means preferably comprises a collar 35, secured to the'shaft,aplurality of links pivotally' connectedto the collar and to the endofthe sleeve, and weights o r balls 36 normally tending to iiy-foutvvarddue to centrifugal force, and to .draw the sleeve toward the collar, theaction o-f centrifugal force being normally'resisted by a suitablespiing 37. It is Well-known that the speed of the engi'ne may becontrolled by advancing or retarding the time of ignition, and it willbe noted that the mechanism for transmitting the motion to a cam permitsof not only an automatic control but also a manual control. A variationinthe speed of thevengine causes a movement of the centrifugal governorto draw the sleeve 34 longitudinally, and'to,`

vary the angular adjustment of the ,wheel 33 and the shaft, while amovement ofthe lever 31-causes 'a longitudinal movement of the sleeve 30and a variation in the angular adjustment of the shaft and the cam.`Either the manually-controlledgovernmg mechanism or theautomati'cgpver-nor may be used independently of the ot er, and the speed of 'theengine may thus' be held substantially constantat any desired speed. 4

In the specific. form of igniter illustrated in Fig. 3, instead ofrelying solely upon the" action of i a coilspring for producing.' thecompression.within the igniting chamberhl employ an auxiliary piston 40for aiding in the l.compression of the gas, and also provide "Qmeanlsoperated from a moving part of the 4#engine for positively'moving thehollow pis- 'ton 12 at the desired time; .ll also provide a reception ofthe hollow piston 40, carried by i the main piston BI ofthe engine. Theengine piston-B is preferably provided with an aperture leading to therear side thereof, so that air or other cooling fluid may circulatewithin the hollow piston 40 to facilitate the cooling thereof. Thecylinder 11a is provided with a pluralityof discharge ventso'r passages13a, normally closed by the hollow piston 12 and servingto permit anescape of the flame from the ignition cylinder to the main cylinder atthe instant of the preliminary explosion. At -the outer end of the'body10b, is the casing formed of two sections14 and 15, having the detailsof construction substantially the same as the casing shown in Fig. 2. Inthis form I have illustrated means for lubricating the hollow piston 12,said means including an oil opening 41, ynormally closed by a screw, anda diaphragm 42,A serving to prevent the passage of lubricating oil tothe inlet ports 20 of the piston. vFor reciprocating the piston 12, Iprovide 4a longitudinally-movable bar ,madeup of two sections 43 and 44adjacent the engine cylinder and mounted within any suitablevforin ofguide. One end of the bar section 44 carries a laterally-extending arm45, engaging with the outer end of the piston 12, and the opposite endof the bar section 43 carries-a laterally-extending alan 46, having aroller 47 ournaled in the outer end thereof and inenUaUement with a cam48 rotated' from a movingpart of the engine.

tently vmove the bar longitudinally and lthe connecting arm 45 causesthe iston 12 to be depressed. The, cam is pre erably conical and soconstructed that it vmay be moved tovary. the movement of the rod or maybe locked to prevent'movement thereof. The two bar Sections 'are heldextended to their maximum ,length Aby a coil spring 49and the roller 47is held in engagement with'th'e cam by a'coil spring 50, engagingwithfthe bar section 43 and with the support orjguidel forv the bar. 'Inthe operation of this form of igniter, the piston 40 enters the cylinderI .41 just beforev thev engine piston reaches the sion of the gas withinthis cylinder, and at 5nd ofthe compression stroke. The-upward f .i

novement ofthe piston `causes la* compresi,

about this time the cam 48 operates to move the piston 12 toward thepiston 40 and still further compresses the ignition charge in thecylinder 11a.- When the pressure within this cylinder reaches the`predetermined limit, the gas spontaneously ignites and the greatincrease in pressure causes the iston 12 to move outward against the'action of the spring 49 and the spring 18, until the .Iier end of thecasing 15. This spring structed that the shaft may rotate Without Amoves it'longitudinally and varies the northe piston 12 variesthe timeat which the .wheel 33 keyed thereto but held from loni'in starting ftports or vents 13l are uncovered and the gas can rush outward into themain charge to ignite the same. The main com ressing action is caused bythe piston 12, W iile the piston 40 serves lar ely' as agneans' forclosing the end of the cy inder. If desired, the piston 40 may bereliedupon solely as the compression piston, in 'which case I lock thecam 48 against movement, whereby the outer end of the piston l2 is alsolocked against longitudinal-movement, save by the compression of thespring 49. Acting in opposition to the spring 18, which aids the -spring49 in resisting the'outvv'ard movement of the piston 12, I preferablyprovide a second'spring 5,2, acting between the flange 19 andtheinserves to retain the outer endof the piston 12 in engagementwiththearm 45. For. varying the time of ignition and thus varying the speedof the, engine, I provide an automatic governor 'varying somewhat indetail from that shown in Fig.'l. The lon-I gitudinally-niovable shaft28 is mounted in suitable bearings and is provided With a gitudinalmovement. The motion is transmitted from the crank shaft of the engineto the wheel 33 in any suitablegmanner. rPhe shaft at one end thereof isconnected by a suitable collar 53 to a longitudinally-mov-` able rackbar 54, the collar 53 being so conrotating the rack bar, butalongitudinal movement ofthe shaft causes acorresponding movement of therack bar. The rack bar engages with a pinionl 55, so mounted on theouter end of the piston 12 that the latter may move freely therethroughbut cannot rotatel in respect thereto. The shaft carries a collar 35rigidly connected thereto, and within the upper end of the controllinglever' 31 is acollar 32, free to rotate on the' shaft.` A centrifugalgovernor, including- Weights or halls 36, is connected to the twocollars in such -a manner that when the le- .ver la'is held stationary,a variation in the speed of the engine tends to move the shaft andtherack bar longitudinally. A move-l ni'ent of the rack bar rotates thepinion 55, the piston 12 keyed thereto, and the casing section 15 whichis held from rotation in res'p'ectv to theshaft by lmeans of the flange19. As the casing section 15 is threaded to the casing section 14,a'rotation of the former mal posit-ion of the piston l2 and the limits'thereof. 'This advancement or recession of gas Withinthe cylinder 111Will be raised to the ignition point.

Inl the-form of the device illustrated ihr* Fig. 2', the cam27 serves tomove the pistoh 12 outward against the action of the spring, e engine inoperation or in case of a misrfe; but the piston isnormally movedoutward,-,that is, after each explosion, by the pressure existing in-the cylinder at the time of explosion, and the cam merely serves toretain the/spring' under compression and thenreleases it at the desiredinstant. In order to move the piston -outward by the pressure ofthegas-1n the cylinder at the startin of the engine or under a misfire, anda so to-eliminate all connections between the piston anda mov- .ing partof the device, I provide the mechanism shown in Figs. 4 to 10,inclusive, in'v which a second piston is provided for aid-y ing inforcing the piston outward during the compression of the main charge,and a is employed for icom ressing the ignitionv i charge Within thecylinder 11H-the face of the piston lbeing formed by a valve 21. *To thebody is secured a casing 14D, within which are contained all of theparts necessary for the Withdrawal of the. ignition piston, thereleasing of the same, the automatic governing ofthe time of release,'and also means for cooling the working parts. The ignition piston 12bis forced inward to create the necessarypressure for lbringing aboutignition, by means of a. spring 18h, the strength of which is in excessof the `compression Vpressure in the engine lcylinder prior totheexp'losion. To compressthis spring and Withdraw the ignition` pistonfor starting the engine or after a mislire, I employ a secondcylinder'56, the lower end of' which is in open communcationwith theengine cylinder through a 'passage 57, and' within the cylinder is apiston58, having -a' passage therethrough controlledbyadoWnwardly-opening spring-pressed valve A piston rod 60 is secured tothe piston 58 and l carries means for operatively.connectingV it c tothe ignition piston 12b; so that both combine in compressing the spring18h during the compression ofthe gas in the engine cyl-'j inder. Thisconnecting means preferably comprisesa plate 61, held between guides onthe piston rod 60 and movable trans- -versely thereof. 'One endoftheplate is normally' held beneath a catch 62on a part of the ignitionpiston 12b, by the action of -a vsmall spring 63. The plate is inengagement with the under sideof the catch 'when .the pistons 12b and`58are `intheir innermost positions, and as the gas'is compressed Withinthe Working cylinder, the`pressure is -exerted against both of thepistons, and the two together serveto compress the spring 1,8".Foixdisengaging the plate 61 from the i catch 62 and permitting of afree`return of .the ignition piston, atransverse trame 64. in the casingcarries a downwardly-extending pin 65, the lower end ot' which istapered and adapted for insertion within an opening 66 in the plate 61.-When the pistons approach the outermost positions, the pin enters theaperture and the cam or beveled surface of said' pin moves the platelaterally to rel-ease the ignition piston. For holding the piston 58 inits outermost position until after a mistire, the piston rod 60 isprovided with a shoulder 67, adapted for engagement. with a slidinglplate 68 carried by the transverse trame. 6st. The plate is normallypressed into operative position by a small spring 69, but is moved outof operative position to permit. the return of the piston 58 by a cam70, carried vby an arm 71 rigid with the ignition piston. lVhen theignition piston .reaches its innermost position, the cam 70 engages withone side of the plate 68 to move the latter out of engagement .with thecatch 67 and the' piston 58 returns to the position illustrated. Foraiding the piston in the return movement, the outer end of the pistonrod Vterminates within a tube 72 carried by the. outer casing section15". Within the tube is a coil spring 73, the tension of which iscontrolled by an adjusting plug 74 at-the. outer end of the spring. .Forretaining the ignition piston 12b in its outermost position andretaining thefspring 18b under compression until itis desired 'tzoignitethe., charge, Irpreferably provide a lever 7,5,pivot`ed vithin the frame64 and having a hook-shaped lower endadapted to engage with a shoulder76 carried by a part of the ignition piston. .A spring 77 normally holdsthe lever in its operative position. For releasing the ignition pistonat. the proper instant, I provide a= third cylinder 78,. similar ,to thecylinder -56 and having a piston 79 therein similar tothe pisv ton 58.The lower end of the cylinder is at `all times in open communicationwith the engine cylinder and the piston is connected to a piston md80,extending to the. outer endet the casing and .engaging a'tuhc or sleeve81, similar to the tube 72. Within said tube is a spring 82, the tensionof which is controlled bya threaded plug .83. Journaled on al shaft 84`(see Figs. 6 and 8) is a wheel 85, the periphery of which engages` withthe side of the piston md80, and said rod is provided with a cam 86 formoving the. wheel and the upper end of the lever laterally to disengagethe lower end of the lever from the shoulder 76, upon theoutward'movernent of the piston 7 9 Vto the required extent. To preventthe .wheel from traveling backward over the cam upon the descent. ot thepiston 79, the piston rod prefe'ably car-ries a guiding flange 87,extending along one side of the piston rod to the base of the cam, thendiagonally across the face and along the opposite side. 'The wheel 85 islongitudinally movable on its shaft against the action of a spring S8,and as it travels` up the face of the cam it is moved axially until itslips ott "the edge of the rod and permitsthe return movements of thelever. Upon the return movement of Ithe cam, the wheel stays against theedge of the cam until it is past t-he same, at Which time it moveslaterally across the face of thehpis ton rod, but without moving thelever 75. For delivering the explosive charge through the hollow piston12b, the outer end of said piston is left open and telesoopes'within astationary tube 89,' the outer end of which may b e connected to themain'supply pipe or A to the carburetor. For automatically governing theengine by varying the time at which t-he ignition takes place and at thesame time for cooling the Working parts within the casing, I provide afly-wheel 90 carried vby a tube 91 encircling the tube 8S) andlongitudinally movable thereon, the

Vspokes ot said fly-wheel being set at an angle so as to constitute afan. The tube l91 is normally heldv in 'its-raised position by a spring92 and is rotated by the vibrations of the lever 75. A portion of thetube 91 is 100 formed with ratchet teeth in its periphery, asillustrated in Fig. 6` and two rack hars 93 engage .with opposite sidesot' the tube.

'The two rack bars are preferably vformed' ot' a single piece ot' springmetal bent to suh-4 105 stant-ial'ly U-sha pe and having the middle orcentral portion pivoted to the upper end o' the lever 75 and theinterior portion supported on a transverse guide 94. 'lhe teeth of thetwo rack bars are oppositely disposed, so that the tube and fan will bero tated continuously in the same direction as the rack bars are movedback and forth. The rotation ot.' the fan draws air into theoasingthrough perforations adjacent the lower end thereof and ejects theair from the open top ofthe casing, thus serving toveool the parts. Theresistance'to the movement of the air causes an end thrust on the fanand tube 91 and against the action ot Jthe 120 spring 92, and as the fanis rotatedat a speed dependent upon the speedof the engine, this endthrust is utilizedfor automatically governing the engine. The shaft- -84supporting the wheel 85, is-free to move 12.5

up and down -in slots'in the lever 75 and is a so free to move'laterallyin slots in two arms 95 carried by a-collar 96 titting loosely in 'agroove in the tube 91. As the tube is raised or lowered byva variationin the end 13o casing, and the pistons 12 and 58 combine to compress thespring 18b until the shoulder 7 6 engages with the catch of the lever75. At this time, the pin 65 withdraws the plate 61, disengaging thepiston 58, but the relturnof this piston is prevented bythe engagementof the shoulder l67 with the plate 68.

The tension of the spring 82 is such that theJ piston 79 is movedoutwardly to bring the" cam 86 into engagement with thewheel 85, andrelease the lever`75 at the time it is desired to explodethe charge. Thedescent of the piston 1.2b compresses the ignition charge until itexplodes, and the great increase in pressure then returns the pistonuntil the shoulder again engages with the catch of the lever 75, whereit remains until again released by the action of the piston' 79. Thus inthe normal running o-f the engine, the piston 58 remains in itsoutermost position. In case of mistire, the' piston 12b is not forced-back but instead returns to itsl innermost position, as shown in Fig.4,

, and the cam 70 actsl to release the iiston rod so that the piston 58can aid in tht` compression of the spring 18b during the compressionofthe next charge.

ln the specific form illustrated in Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive, twoseparate and distinct auxiliary cylinders are employed in addition tothe ignition cylinder one of these cylinders serving Ito aid in thewithdrawal of the ignition piston vafter a misfre and the other servingto operate the releasing 'device and permit the return of the piston. Ifdesired, I may use other means 'for doin'g the work of the piston 79,the operation of which is dependent upon the compression of gas in theigniter rather than in the engine cylinder.

I have illustrated in Figs. 11 to 13, inelusive, a device constructed asabove indicated, this device including in its construction a body. 10d,the lower end of whichis constructed to forni'an ignition cylinder 11.Within the cylinder is mounted the hollow' ignition `piston 12, yclosedat its lower end by a Valve 21 and serving to compress the gas until itexplodes and the flame shoots-through 'the exhaust port 13 to theinterior of the cylinder. The body carries a casing 14, within which isformed a cylinder 100 concentric with the ignition cylinder 11c andcommunicating-at its lower end with the engine cylinder. throughv a'plurality of passages 101. Within the cylinder is an annular piston 102,the periphery of which engages with the inner surface of thecylinder andthe central aperture of which engages with the outer surface of theingition piston 120.- The piston rod is Vin the form of anannu'larflange 103, having packings 104, 105, upon opposite sides thereof. Theinner packing 104 is held Ain place by a threaded sleeve 10G threadedinto the flange 103 and terminating in a. horizontally-disposed flangeor end plate 107 extending out-v ward to adjacent the inner surface ofthe casing and held from rotation by engagementwith a. spline or flange108 inthe latter.

The'paeking 105 is held inplace by an annular collar 105a pressed downby a spring 109, the outer end of which engages with the inner surfaceof said 'flange or plate 107. Mounted on the plate 107 is a bracket 110,carrying a lever 111, one end of which is adapted to engage with theunder side of a shoulderon the ignition piston, wherei bythe outwardmovement of the piston 102 causes a simultaneous outward movenent of theignition piston. The opposite end of the lever is adapted to engage witha roller 112 or other suitable means at the outer end of the casing forrocking 4the lever` and withdrawing it from engagement with the ignitionpiston. At the outer.end of the casing is a depending spring arm 113,having a catch at the lower end thereofadapt- --ed'to engage with `acatch 114 on the plate the chamber are two ormore depending" Ispringcatches 117, adapted to enter the end of the ignition piston and'engagebeneath a terminal flange therein 'for locking the pistonv in itsoutermost posit-ion. Within the ignition piston is a plunger 118,normally pressed outward by the action vof-a suitable .spring and havingavconical recess119 in its outer end, so formedthat as the plunger isforced outward by the .action of its spring, it engages with the springcatches 117 and forceshl them inward to release the ignition piston. Theoperation of the plunger 118 is dependentupon the pressure' ofl ,the airin the air chamber, whichmay be" controlled by providingy aspring-pressed air inlet valve 120 and an exhaust'valve 121 having avery minute passage therethrough. As the ignition piston is forcedoutward,the compression of Lees-,93o

the air in the air chamber 116 forces the plunger downward and 'permitsVthe pist-on to become locked init-s outermost position, as illustratedin Fig. 12. At about the same time the lever 111 is withdrawn and thecatch 114- engages with the catch 113 to hold the piston 102.v Thespring of the plunger 118 forces the air in the chamber' Y 116 outthrough the small exhaust opening until the plunger engages with thespring catches and the piston 12c is released to ignite the charge. Bycontrolling the ap-` erture through the exhaust valve 121,.`the timerequired for the plunger to reach the spring catches and release them,-maybe readily controlled, and thus control the time, of ignition. Ifdesired, the inner surface of the ignition piston may be provided with alongitudinal groove 122 to permit an escape of a portion of the air pastthe plunger when it reaches a certain limit. The explosive mixture inaybe supplied to the. in-` terior of the ignition piston and past thevalve 21 to the ignition chamber in any suitable manner. Assh'ovvn, aconduit 123' delivers such mixture to an annular chamber 124 Within thebody 10d, from which it may escape through a plurality of apertures tothe 'exterior of the cylinder 100 and thence through apertiire's20c inthe ignition piston to the interior of the latter.-

Having thus described 'my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination with an internal coinbustion engine having a cylinderprovided with an opening extending through the wall of saidcylinderindependent of tlie inlet or exhaust port thereof, of an ignition deviceextending through said opening and detachably secured-to said enginecylinder by its engagementwithin said opening and having, a` portdelivering to said engine cylinder, a hollow piston With-in saidignition device, a valve -at the inner end of said piston, means fordelivering an auxiliary charge of explosive mixture through said hollowpiston to said ignition device, and means for operating said piston forcompressing said charge tothe point of ignition.

`2. An ignition device for internal `coin.-

lbustion engines, comprising an ignition cylinder the enginecylindera'nd` having a port coin- Y adapted to Ybe detacihalqly securedto municating vwith said engine cylinder, a, hollow'piston Within saidignitioncylinder, a valve controllingl the inner end of said piston,'means for moving said piston in one direction, and a kspring for movingsaid piston in the opposite direction to compress said charge to thepoint of ignition. Y

.3. An ignition device for internalvcoinbiistion engines, comprising abodyadapted to be detachably secured to the engine cyliiider and havingan ignition cylinder proport'delivering to said engine cylinder, a

piston within said ignition cylinder, a casing at the outer end of saidbody and encircling said piston, said casing having an inletport outsideof the engine cylinder for the admission of a fuel charge, and meanso-utside of the engine cylinder and Within said casing for operatingsaid piston to couipress a charge in the ignition cylinder to the pointof ignition.

5. An ignition device for internal coin- -bustion engines, comprising abody adapted to be detachably secured to the engine cylinder and havingan ignition cylinder extending into said engine cylinder and. having a.

port delivering to said engine cylinder, a-

piston within said ignition cylinder, a casing attlie outer end of saidbody and encircling said piston, saidcasing having an inlet port outsideof the engine cylinder-for the admission of a fuel charge, and a springwithin said casing-and in engagement with said piston for forcing thelatter inward to compress the ignition charge. L

(i. An .ignition device' for engines,` comprising an ignition cylinderadapted to be detachably secured to the engine cylinder, a casing at theouter end of said cylinder, a hollow ignition piston within saidcylinder andaextending through said casing 'and having the inner endthereof closed Ibyan explosive cliarge inlet' valve, a spring withinsaid casing and in engagement with said piston for moving the latter tocompress the charge, and means for delivering an explosive charge to theinterior ofsaid piston.' 7. An ignition device for engines, coin-'prisi'ng a'n ignition cylinder having a port communicating with theengine cylinder, an ignition piston .within said ignition cylinder,

coil spring for operating said piston to compress the ignition chai-geto the point of igiiition,'an auxiliary'cylinder iny opencoinniuncationwith lthe engine cylinder, an auxiliary piston within 'said' auxiliarycyliiider, and means operatively connecting said last-mentioned pistonto said ignition piston, l whereby upon tlie compression of the chargeiii-thc engine cylinder, `both pistons coperale to compress said spring.

8. An ignition device for engines, coniprising an ignition cylinderhaving an inlet iso port' outside of the engine cylinder and aportfcommunicating with the engine cylinder, an ignition piston withinsaid ignition cylinder, a4 coil spring for operating said 5; piston tocompress the ignition charge to the l point of. ignition, an auxiliarycylinder in open communication with the engine cylinder,.an lauxiliarypiston within said auxilu iary cylinder, means operatively connecting Vsaid last-mentioned piston to vsaid ignition piston,/whereby upon thecompressionof the I,charge in the engine cylinder, bot-h pistonscoperate to compress said spring,

/ /fmeans for detaching said pistons when said spring is undercompression., and means for ,f releasing said ignition piston tocompress the charge.

9. An ignition device for engines, comprising an ignition cylinderhaving a port .2O communicating with the engine cylinder, anv

-ignition piston, a spring for operating'said ignition piston, meansoperable upon'an increase in pressure in the engine cylinder andoperatively connected to said ignition piston for aiding in thecompressing of said spring, means for releasing said ignition piston' tocause the compression and `ignition of the ignition charge, and meansfor automati-` cally governing said releasing means to vary the time ofignition.

10. An ignition device for engines, comprising an ignition chamberhaving a port communicating with the engine cylinder, an ignitionpiston, a spring for operating said 35. ignition piston, means operableupon an in- 'crease in pressure in the engine cylinder and operativelyconnected to said ignition piston for aiding in the compressiony of saidspring, means for releasing said ignition pis- 4 0 ton to cause thecompression and ignition of the ignition charge, means forautomatically. governing the action of said releasing de-v vice, andmeans for manually controlling said'releasing device.

11,-An ignition device for internal combustion engines, comprising anignition cylinder adapted to be detachably secured to the enginecylinder and having a port communieating with said engine cylinder, apiston within said ignition cylinder and having a passage therethrough,a valve controlling said passage, means for' moving said piston in onedirection, and a spring for moving said piston in the 'opposite'direction, to compi-ess the charge in the ignition cylinder to the pointof'ignition.

12. An ignition device for engines, com# prising an ignition cylinder,an ignition pis! ton within saidignition cylinder, a spring foroperating' said piston to compress the ignition'charge to the point ofignition, a

passageway leading from the ignition vcylinder, whereby uponan explosionwithin the latter, said piston .acts to compress said l'spring,`a catchto vhold said ignition piston and means for releasing said catch. v

13. An ignition device for engines, com-4 prising an ignition cylinderhaving a port communicating with the engine cylinder, an ignition pistonwithin said ignition cylinder, a coilspiing for operating said piston tocompress 'the ignition charge to, the

point of ignition, an auxiliary cylinder in open communication'with theengine cylin der, -an auxiliary piston within said auxiliary cylinder,means opera-tively connecting said last-mentioned piston to saidignition piston, whereby uponthe compression of the coilspri'ng'foroperatingsaid'piston to compressthe ignition charge to the .point ofignition, means for compressing said spring upon the compression of thecharge within the enginecylinder and means for 'compressingsaid springupon the explosion of the charge within said engine cylinder.

4In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence ofV two subscribing Witnesses.

HERMANN REICHE.

y Witnesses I CLAIR W. FAniANm Evnizann B. MARSHALL.

